Last night's release of the Google Desktop Gmail Gadget added yet another way for users of the big G's email service to be pinged about their new inbox messages. While constant email awareness isn't necessarily a great thing, as alumnus Keith, author Tim Ferriss, and our site editor have noted, Gmail seems fairly open to third-party apps and clever hacks that can keep you aware of your inbox without annoying sounds or in-your-face pop-ups. We're wondering which tools our readers are actually using, if any, to stay on top of their inboxes in an ambient kind of way. Read on to vote in our reader poll, and offer up any apps or tricks we missed in the comments.